Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 32,311 residents, it is a large town in West Midlands.
Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Its weakest is safety — police record 47.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 22.6 home and vehicle crimes. Only just over one in ten UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. It lags on health as well: life expectancy 78.5 for men, 82.2 for women. Homes are affordable (A): a typical home costs £195,000 and rent runs £858 a month. Walkability is a strength too — on the way to work, 18% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. The overall grade lands at C, #14 of 35 in West Midlands. On that grade it does better than 31% of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · life expectancy, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Brierley Hill is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Brierley Hill does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Brierley Hill’s built-up area.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →13 listed buildings in Brierley Hill.
Canal Stables at Delph Locks: Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Church of St Michael: Photo: David M Lear · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Brierley Hill War Memorial: Photo: Dudley Council from England · CC BY 2.0 · Harris and Pearson Entrance Building: Photo: Noisar · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Brierley Hill.
Just over a tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, below West Midlands’ towns (14%) and close to England’s towns (12%). Children under 15 make up 18% of residents. The age that splits Brierley Hill in two is 39.8.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Brierley Hill | West Midlands | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 20% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| 65+ | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 24% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.3% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 21% | 28% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Secondary results at the 14 secondary schools within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 44.1, with 42% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Brockmoor Primary School’s results beat 77% of schools in England like it. Below are three of its 11 schools, each with why it was picked. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 9 primary schools: 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peters Hill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 722 | B− |
| Thorns Collegiate AcademyLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 861 | D |
| Brockmoor Primary SchoolTop results in townPrimary | Primary | 439 | A− |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Brierley Hill has more crime per resident than 88% of them. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 3,559 offences in Brierley Hill and 112 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up nearly two fifths of the total.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a tenth of the total, between West Midlands’ towns (7%) and England’s towns (16%). Per 10,000 residents, Brierley Hill counts 4 listed buildings.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
22% live in social housing, close to West Midlands’ towns (22%) and above England’s towns (18%). 933 standard sales inside Brierley Hill’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £195,000. Owners make up just over three in five households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £300,000 | 180 |
| Semi-detached | £207,000 | 387 |
| Terraced | £175,000 | 263 |
| Flat or maisonette | £102,500 | 103 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Nearly a fifth of residents have a disability, above West Midlands’ towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. 7 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Brierley Hill is Russells Hall Hospital, 1.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Brierley Hill | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households take home £44K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Brierley Hill, 19% work in the town itself. There are 1.2 jobs in Brierley Hill for each resident in work. Nearly three in five commuters travelled under 5 km, above both West Midlands’ towns (45%) and England’s towns (45%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Brierley Hill. Best known first.
CastleDudley Castle2.8 km outside town, to the northeast
Historic houseHagley Hall4 km outside town, to the south
Abbey or priory · English HeritageHalesowen Abbey4.9 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumBlack Country Living Museum3.5 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumRed House Glass Cone900 m outside town, to the west
Abbey or prioryPriory Ruins2.7 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
25 notable people were born in Brierley Hill.
Danny Batth: Æthelred, CC BY-SA 3.0
Large town in West Midlands, England
Brierley Hill is a built-up area of 32,311 people, in the Dudley council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brierley Hill | 32,311 | — | C | A | D | C− |
| Stourbridge | 56,961 | 1.7 | C+ | B | C− | C |
| Kingswinford | 51,900 | 1.8 | C+ | B+ | C+ | C |
| Cradley Heath | 18,819 | 2.4 | D− | C− | D | D |
| Dudley | 64,277 | 2.5 | C− | A | D− | D |
| Halesowen | 60,103 | 3.2 | B− | B+ | C | C |
| Blackheath | 6,950 | 3.6 | D− | C− | D− | D |
| Hagley | 7,012 | 3.8 | A+ | B | A− | A+ |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £195,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £102,500, terraced houses £175,000, semi-detached houses £207,000 and detached houses £300,000.
GCSE results trail 62% of towns in England, and primary results trail 70% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.